Creamy Tomato Soup with Baked Mozzarella Balls

Creamy Tomato Soup with Baked Mozzarella Balls

You'll need:
1 steaming hot bowl of tomato soup [scroll down for recipe!]
3-4 cubes of  mozzarella cheese1 egg white, whisked1/4 cup flour [or a little less]approx 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning blend [like Ms Dash]cooking spray






Mozzarella Balls prep:
1. Cube/ball the mozzarella into one-inch cubes (a little smaller will work too!)  
2. The mozzarella cubes needs to be frozen, place them on a plate, spaced, and put them in the freezer. Make sure the cubes don't touch or else it will be difficult to separate them. Once they've hardened, move them over to a freezer baggie and continue the freezing process. Keep them in the freezer no less than 4 to 5 hours. Overnight is better. 

Mozzarella Balls:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Leave the mozzarella cubes frozen until needed. 

2. Put seasoning blend in bowl, panko in bowl. Also whisked egg white and flour into separate bowls.

3. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with a wire cooling/baking rack. Get the mozzarella from the freezer. Dip the frozen cheese in the flour, seasoning, then egg, and finally roll around in panko to coat.  4. Place it on the wire rack and repeat for the remaining mozzarella cubes.

5. Spray each ball with cooking spray and bake at 425 for approximately 10 minutes.  When golden brown, remove from oven and serve atop a piping hot bowl of tomato soup.

Note: Baking time could take anywhere from 8 minutes to 12 minutes.

Creamy Tomato Soup

You'll need:

1/2 of a 14.5oz can of tomato sauce [pureed tomatoes]

1/2 of a 15oz can of fire roasted tomatoes

1/2 an onion, diced [approx 1.5 cups]

1/2 cup vegetable broth

2 Tbsp grape seed or olive oil

1 large clove of garlic, smashed and minced

1 stalk of celery, diced [approx 4 Tbsp]

5 baby carrots, chopped

3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp freeze dried basil [or fresh] plus extra to garnish

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Saute chopped onions, celery and carrots in 2 Tbsp oil until tender.  Once tender, add garlic and saute for about a minute or so to bring out the flavor.  Season with salt and pepper. 

2. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, cream cheese and broth and let simmer for 25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, and the sugar, if needed.

3. Add the basil.  If you're using plain dried basil, start with 1/2 Tbsp and then slowly add more to taste.  For freeze dried or fresh you'll want to toss in a Tbsp.  

4. Puree using a hand held (immersion) blender until fabulously smooth and bisque-like.

5. Serve in soup bowls with a sprinkle of fresh basil on top as well as the mozzarella balls.

Recipe from http://www.peasandcrayons.com/2012/05/waiter-there-are-balls-in-my-soup.html